Office of the Attorney General
State of Texas

Honorable George W. Strake, Jr.
Secretary of State
State Capitol
Austin, Texas 78711

Opinion No. MW-163

Re: Fees charged by Secretary of State.

Dear Mr. Strake:

You request our opinion advising you which statute or statutes
prescribe the fees to be charged by your office in each of the
following situations:

1a Furnishing uncertified copies of financing statements
filed with the Secretary of State pursuant to Chapter 9 of the
Texas Business and Commerce Code.

1b Furnishing certified copies of the same.

2a Furnishing uncertified copies of articles of
incorporation filed with the Secretary of State pursuant to the
Texas Business Corporation Act.

2b Furnishing certified copies of the same.

3a Furnishing uncertified copies of any agency record of the
Secretary of State.

3b Furnishing certified copies of the same.

There are several statutes which establish fees to be collected
by your office for furnishing documents. See, e.g., V.T.C.S.
arts. 3913, 3914; Bus. & Comm. Code ss 9.407(b); 35.06. The
Secretary of State's office is also subject to the Open Records
Act, V.T.C.S. article 6252-17a, which states in section 9 that
the cost of noncertified photocopies of public records shall not
be excessive. It provides that the Board of Control shall
publish cost figures to aid agencies in determining charges under
the Act. However, where another statute sets a fee for providing
a specific document to a member of the public, your office should
charge the statutorily established fee and not use the fee
schedule prepared by the Board of Control. Attorney General
Opinion H-560 (1975) (fee schedule in article 3918, V.T.C.S., not
repealed by Open Records Act). In case of conflict between a
general provision and a specified provision dealing with the same
subject, the specific provision prevails. Trinity Universal
Insurance Company v. McLaughlin, 373 S.W.2d 66 (Tex. Civ. App.--Austin 1963), motion for rehearing overruled, 374 S.W.2d 350
(Tex. Civ. App.--Austin 1963).

Your first question concerns furnishing uncertified copies of
financing statements filed with your office pursuant to chapter 9
of the Texas Business and Commerce Code. Section 9.407 of the
Code provides as follows:

(b) . . . Upon request the filing officer shall furnish a
copy of any filed financing statement or statement of assignment
for a uniform fee of $1.00 per page, but not less than $5.00 per
request concerning a debtor.

This provision establishes a fee of one dollar per page for
uncertified copies of financing statements. Article 3913,
V.T.C.S., establishes charges for certified copies of records in
your office. The charge is one dollar per page for copies by
photo process, and $1.50 per page for copies by another process.

You next inquire about charges for articles of incorporation
filed with your office pursuant to the Texas Business Corporation
Act. In our opinion, the fees established by article 3913,
V.T.C.S., apply to certified copies of articles of incorporation.
Article 3914, V.T.C.S., establishes a fee of fifty cents per
legal size page for copies of any paper, document, or record in
your office. We believe this fee applies to uncertified copies
of articles of incorporation on legal size paper. However, since
article 3914, V.T.C.S., does not establish fees for uncertified
copies on letter size paper, we believe you should charge for
them the fees established by the Board of Control under the Open
Records Act.

Your third question concerns furnishing copies of records
generated by or pertaining to your office, in contrast to those
filed there by members of the public. We believe article 3914,
V.T.C.S., established the fees for uncertified copies of agency
records on legal size paper. We believe the fee schedule
established by the Board of Control under the Open Records Act
would apply to letter size copies. We note finally that you may
not charge other state agencies for copies of documents in your
office which are required in the performance of their official
duties. V.T.C.S. art. 3913.

SUMMARY

The Secretary of State should as a general matter charge the
fees set by statute for furnishing copies of documents in this
office rather than using the fee schedule prepared by the Board
of Control pursuant to the Open Records Act. Article 3913,
V.T.C.S., establishes the fees for certified copies of documents.
Section 9.407(b) of the Business and Commercial Code establishes
the fee for an uncertified copy of a financing statement filed
pursuant to that code. Article 3914, V.T.C.S., establishes the
fee for uncertified copies of articles of incorporation and of
your agency records on legal size paper. The fees established by
the Board of Control should be charged for uncertified copies of
these documents on letter size paper.